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The final battle for DoomWood has begun....

Go to LightGuard keep. The teleporter on the second floor will take you to the unpredictable final battle... it is unlike anything we have done in AQWorlds before -- and we hope you enjoy it! If you are not caught up in the storyline yet, the teleporter will tell you where to go and take you to the right place. Hurry! Vordred and Artix have already begun the final battle!!

Valencia and Robina model the female version ofEvolved Shaman Class and UndeadSlayer Class

A BOSS BATTLE unlike any we have done before!

I am looking forward to playing this release alongside you... literally. This boss fight is truly different from the others. It will just be you and I against Vordred. (However to team up with your friends using /goto and play it together) There are multiple endings... each ending has a different cutscene and unlocks a different reward shop. You must be at least level 20 to survive the battle.... unless you are REALLY good! It is always scary trying something new... so please have fun and tell us what you think. No matter what happens, I believe in you Hero!

Tipping my helm to the team... thank you or all your hard work

At 4:30am last night, when the entire team was still up working hard on this release... I felt that special feeling in my soul. As a collective group, we broke the AE record for the most hours of lost sleep in a single week. I am really proud and you guys... and grateful for the opportunity to work along side you. To everyone who worked on this release... Cysero, Alina, Zhoom, J6, Nulgath, Samba, Dage, Mennace, Reens, Yorumi and special thanks to Warlic, Ghost, George Lowe, Llusion, and everyone else who put their all into this release.... thank you! For your reward... we will get even crazier and make the next saga even better! BATTLE ON!

Other random things!

Rolith's Pony Pranks - For the past several months Rolith has been pranking me by changing my computer & cellphone wallpapers to pretty pink ponies. Lately... I have been noticing certain AE team members chuckling when I walk by. I think they are up to something... bigger. Please let me know if you see anything "pony releted" happening in the games.

Now available for the iPhone and Android

The AE team created a mobile app our favorite voice actor... ME! So now, you too can have your life narrated by George Lowe (best known as the voice of Space Ghost!) Includes 300+ soundbites (even some favorites from the games.) At the touch of your fingertip, you will instantly be able to make any cramped elevator more uncomfortable.

Evolved Shaman, UndeadSlayer, Vordred Boss Fight

As I write this post, it is 1:30am EST in the morning. Samba and Nulgath are still animating the insane number of cutscenes coming in tonight's Vordred Boss Fight. (We appreciate what you are doing so much! Go guys go!) This is going to be unlike the end of any other zone so far... and it is REALLY difficult not to talk about it until you had a chance to play it. Ghost even wrote a new song for it!

But we can show you a preview!(Bad Artix, bad! - Alina)

We also have two classes being released. The one I am most excited about is Undead Slayer. It is a decent class against normal monsters... and AN UNIMAGINABLE WRECKING BALL OF DESTRUCTION against undead monsters. It also has a heal. Cysero does not like it because there is no real strategy to the class. On the other hand, I love it because it is exactly the way I enjoy playing. (That and I one shotted Noxus with a 15K Spirit Dragon Lance)

I have not seen Evolved Shaman yet, but it looks interesting too. Dage is working on the art for both of these classes. He had to prepare for a severe weather up North - but he said he should have them tomorrow morning.

Also, it is possible to get the 2nd piece of the Blinding Light of Destiny in tonights release... if you can get the Ultra-Good ending. Good luck everyone... tonight we BATTLE VORDRED!

Card Game MOD PACKS!

Toys"R"Us was really surprised that a small indie game company like us would have so many people to visit their stores for our card game. Thank you for making us look so good! (We were wondering if anyone remembered that I promised to write the DoomWood saga as a thank you to all the players who did.)

The AQWorlds CardGame has been an ongoing success and Toys"R"Us asked if we would create something to keep the card game fresh and lively with the holiday season coming up. We thought about it hard... because we promised that this was not one of those games where you had to buy endless foil wrapped mystery packs at some change of getting rares cards. We were not making that up!

So we came up with something completely new - a MOD PACK. Imagine if you took all the best cards you were hunting for from booster and expansion packs and put them all into a single pack which was a one-time purchase (just like the original game). We built two of them: DoomWood and ChaosLord. Each pack comes with a lot of awesome new themed cards ... including some rule twisting special cards. Simply mix them into your deck and make the game even more fun.

Both the DoomWood and ChaosLord mod packs are a one-time only purchase and will come with bonus in-game items which will be announced closer to the release date... which should be in October!

Twitter/Forum Question: What was your favorite area, cutscene or fight in the DoomWood Saga?

UndeadSlayer is Coming Tomorrow!

We've got 2 classes coming tomorrow. First, the non-member Evolved Shaman class (You can either earn with Arcangrove Rep Rank 10, like original Shaman or pay 2000acs for it unlike original Shaman) for which Alina did a great skills breakdown yesterday. So if you have already ranked up to Rep Rank 10 in Arcangrove then all you need to do is NOTHING.

Tomorrow, during the release, we will be adding the Evolved Shaman directly to the backpacks of anyone who already has Rank 10 Arcangrove Rep. If you earn Rank 10 Arcangrove Rep AFTER release tomorrow then you will need to spend the standard 50,000 gold that the earned version of the class costs.

You'll be happy to note that this class is as color customizable as the original is.

The second class coming tomorrow is the member-only class for DoomWood, UndeadSlayer. If you are a member you will be also be able to buy this class for 2000acs or earn it with DoomWood Rep Rank 10. The good news is that if you've already ranked up to earn Necromancer then you're all set.

NONE OF THE CLASSES MENTIONED ABOVE ARE GOING RARE. From tomorrow's release onward, you will always be able to earn Shaman and earn/buy Evolved Shaman, or earn/buy UndeadSlayer.

I'd love to show you what UndeadSlayer Class looks like but Dage had to prepare for Hurricane Don and got a late start on the art. It's still in progress but what I've seen so far looks great!

UNDEADSLAYER SKILL SET

Now let's see what UndeadSlayer can do.

The most important thing that you need to understand about UndeadSlayer is that is was built for SLAYING UNDEAD. It is a decent class for soloing but might feel a little underpowered UNTIL you are in DoomWood, BattleUnder, Shadowfall or fighting undead in some other area.

If the undead had faces to melt, it would melt them without breaking a sweat.

The UndeadSlayer Class has an interesting dynamic that you won't find in any other class. It takes both Mana to use its abilities but you also need to gather Spirit Orbs to increase the effects of the skills. Getting Spirit Orbs is easy, you get one every time your auto-attack goes off against an undead, even if you miss. You'll see the count going up as you fight and it will max out that 200 Spirit Orbs.

Now let's go over the skills.

AUTO ATTACK

2 second cooldown.

A basic attack, taught to all adventurers. When attacking undead you gain spirit power.

In this model AA actually plays a pretty important role in battle. This is your only damage power that does not do increased damage against undead but it's the only way to gain Spirit Orbs. You will want to pay close attention to how much spirit power you have saved up.

Just watch your character and the game will display how much spirit power you have banked each time you auto-attack.

EXORCISE

10 mana, 2 second cooldown.

A powerful spirit attack, damage enhanced by spirit power. More effective against undead.

This class is not complex. This is an attack. It does damage. It does more damage against undead. The more Spirit Orbs you have banked, the more damage it does. It's a very inexpensive skill with a very fast cooldown so spam it.

A handy self-heal. It's enough to keep you alive with low spirit orbs but as stacks go up it makes it insane. Nearly a full heal with the max 200 Spirit Orbs banked.

This one will eat your mana if you're not careful but considering the cooldown it shouldn't be a problem for most to balance cost versus effect.

VORPAL STRIKE

10 mana, 5 second cooldown.

A strong attack enhanced by spirit power.

Once again, if you can make a sandwich, you can use this class. This is another attack. It also does damage. The more Spirit Orbs you have banked, the more damage it does. Once again, it's cheap and has a fast cooldown. Your mana won't flat line if you are spamming this one as soon as the cooldown pops either.

REJUVINATION & BLESSED SPEED BURST

Rank 4 Passive

Increase Endurance by 15%

Increase Haste by 10%

Your basic passives here. Ranking up the class unlocks the ability to attack faster than ever before while taking more of a beating.

DRAGON LANCE

30 mana, 30 second cooldown.

A strong attack enhanced by spirit power.

The UndeadSlayer's ultimate attack. Requires at least 20 Spirit Power to use. Consumes ALL Spirit Power.

Here's the Big Daddy attack for Undead Slayer.This attack does a MININUM of around 6000 damage to an undead foe and the damage only goes up with the Spirit Orbs you bank. With a full stack banked, it's not uncommon to see a crit for around 15-20,000 damage. It's pretty nasty.

SPIRIT SURGE

Rank 10 Passive

Small chance that using one of your skills other than Auto-Attack may result in instantly maxing out your Spirit Power.

This is a pretty nice little extra you get for maxing out the class. I've had it happen to me only twice in testing but suddenly your heals are HUGE and your Dragon Lance are taking a third of an undead bosses life.

SUMMARY: I've solo'd Noxus several times with this class. It's really pretty nice against undead. As I mentioned earlier, against anything else it's a decent enough class but it's really specialized to Undead. it rips through them like a hot knife through butter.

There are a few tactics that you might want to use.

I've found it pretty useful against undead bosses to just sit there and heal myself until ive' got a LOT of Spirit Orbs banked. After that you can either blow it all on a big Dragon Lance, cause it's nice to see that BIG damage, but make sure you heal first. One last mega-heal never hurts and after the Lance, because after that you're back to 0 Orbs and a rinky dink heal.

The other option is to keep the stacks and damage flowing. If you keep the spirit orbs banked, Exorsize and Vorpal Strike start really doing some serious damage and the BEST part is they the cooldowns and mana cost remain steady so you just clewing through the bosses HP and keeping up those mega-self-heals.

Depends on your play-style.

Either way, I think this class accomplishes what Artix wanted when he designed the skills. It allows you to mow through undead as if you WERE Artix himself, Spirit Orbs and all. The more you fight the STRONGER you get.

Advanced Color Picker Coming Friday.

This little widget has given us more trouble than we ever expected but considering that happens a lot you'd think we would have expected it.

NEVERTHELESS, through Yorumi and Zhoom's collective hard work the Advanced Color Picker will be ready tomorrow.

When you visit Yulgar's Room 42 you will see an increased range of color swatches.

But if you look in the upper right hand corner you will see a little button that looks like this...

This button switches the color picker from Swatches Mode to Free Mode. Free Mode is an analog display of pretty much every base color you could imagine and it has a brightness slider on the right hand side that allows you to make your selected color as bright or dark as you like.

This basicly allows you to pick any color within the entirety of the percievable range of human sight.

It even displays the exact details of that color in the Info boxes at the lower right so you can write down the values and duplicate that PERFECT color you spent an hour finding time and time again.

COMING TOMORROW

We have finally reached the end of the DoomWood Saga. We have a LOT of surprises for you and it will wrap up EVERY SINGLE story thread that we've lovingly crafted for you as this zone has progressed.

A lot of people have been asking me if they will finally get the chance to earn Artix's weapon, the Blinding Light of Destiny...

True story

I went to the Apple store* at the mall not too long ago. As usual, the store was jam packed with people playing with the iphones, ipads and Apple computers. What caught me completely off guard was a table full of boys using the computers to play DragonFable! There are no words to properly explain the feeling that lifted my heart. As an indie game maker... there is no greater happiness achievable. Overcome with excitement, I said, "DRAGONFABLE!? AWESOME!" The boys were so engrossed in their battles that they did not even turn around. Their characters were pretty far along in the storyline. I watched them play for a few moments and as I was leaving the store, I used my phone to tweet what just happened on Twitter. You guys had a lot of awesome ideas of what I should have done** instead of just leaving with a smile from ear to ear... but, by the time I got your messages... I was already long gone. To whomever those boys were, thank you for one of the best memories ever!

* If the DoomWood Mall had one of these... it would be the Rotten Apple Store. "Half a worm in every mega-bite!"** Favorite was "Get on the computer next to them and just log in and play. See if they looked at my character."

Forum/Twitter Question: Have you ever played one of our games somewhere interesting? If so... where? (Oh, remember NOT to check save user/pass when using a public machine. I was at a hotel in Canada once and saw someone had entered their AQ user/pass and saved it O_O!)

Unmask the Secrets of the Evolved Shaman!

Shamans share a deep connection with Lore's four main elements; this is common knowledge. But there lies within the Shaman sect a core of sha-men and -women who have gone beyond, looked deeper, travelled down magical paths others dare not tread, and so are now more closely connected to the elements than their less-evolved brethren.

This is a Non-Member, Arcangrove-inspired Class based loosely on the original Shaman, but with all-new skills and a unique appearance! The art for the class is not ready yet, but we'll post pics of that as soon as we have them! This class can be bought for 2,000 ACs or, if you have already battled and repped your way towards earning the original Shaman class, you will get it for FREE!

Evolved Shaman Skill Breakdown!

Auto Attack2 second attackA basic attack, taught to all adventurers.

Freezing FlameRank 15 mana, 6 second cooldown Deals moderate damage and either burns your foe for damage over time or freezes your target in place, stunning them for 4 seconds. Effect increased by Elemental Grasp.

Elemental GraspRank 560 mana, 16 second cooldown Deals light damage to target and applies Elemental Grasp, negating all target Evasion and Critical Strike chance. This effect also makes the Evolved Shaman’s spells more powerful, and gets stronger the more spells the Shaman casts against the target.

Elemental StormRank 10 PassiveSmall chance to greatly increase the power of an AoE ability.

Breakdown Wrap-up!

We suggest using any of the Caster enhancements on Shaman, though it is geared towards Spellbreaker enhancements, since the class derives power from INT and WIS.

Starting this Friday, you'll be able to find the Evolved Shaman class being sold for 2,000 ACs at the new NPC in BattleOn for the next few weeks (along with the UndeadSlayer and Necromancer classes, each 2,000 ACs). It will also be permanently available in the Arcangrove Rep shop (though it will not require rep).

Look for a skill write-up on the UndeadSlayer class and more information on this week's release to come tomorrow! I'll leave you with a few words aimed at the hearts of any true Shamans:

Unlock even greater powers with the enhanced elemental attacks of the Evolved Shaman class! Wield these skills well and there is no telling what your connection to the magic of Lore will cause. Shamans! Are you ready to grow, to strengthen... to evolve?

The biggest script ever for a non-Special Event Release

A normal weekly release script is 1.5 pages... often double spaced. THIS WEEK's script is 12 pages... single spaced! (11 cutscenes, 4 boss-type fights, and 5 single-item reward shops.) Thank you to everyone who tweeted ideas to help with the script yesterday! Your creativity and passion for the AQWorlds never ceases to amaze... and inspired me to write more than anyone could imagine. My favorite part of the game-making progress is when we have fun thinking up crazy things together. (What other game studio does that!?) For the record, a room full of network TV writers will throw around hundreds of ideas and use only one. That is what we did together last night. With a twist... I wanted to make this ending a surprise for you. So when I asked you to think of something unexpected, I was also making sure no one could guess what I was writing for you. (As usual, some of you are just too clever... and a lot of rewriting took place.) Also, as promised... it pretty serious (90%). So here are some out takes that WILL NOT be in the script for you to enjoy...

Vordred: ARTIX, I AM YOUR FATHER!Artix: Really?Vordred: NO.

Vordred: I NEED MORE SKULLS!Vordred: ... MORE SKULLS!!!!You: Did'ya ever consider hitting a costume store after Halloween? You can get some really good discounts.Vordred: YOU WILL PAY FOR YOUR INSOLENCE!You: Does the 90% off savings apply to insolence?

You: Vordred... prepare for the FINAL BATTLE!Vordred: WAIT... I NEED TO USE THE LITTLE UNDEADSLAYERS ROOM!Vordred: AND IT IS *REALLY* HARD TO GET OUT OF THIS SKULL ARMOR... Vordred: ... REALLY HARD.Vordred: NOXUS PUT THE SKULL SHAPED ZIPPER ON THE BACK. Vordred: LOOK AT MY ARMS... DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW HARD IT IS TO MOVE THEM?Vordred: I CAN BARELY OPERATE A FORK! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO REACH BACK THERE?You: Alright... Artix, this is NOT going in the script. Artix: Awwwww.... Alright. We are keeping this 99% super serious!Artix: Well... 90%

P.S. The winner of the Matromy contest will be posted on the homepage tomorrow. We are just waiting for verification! Also check in tomorrow... for a post on how our animators and programmers are doing! Samba & Nulgath are in the hot seat his week.... good luck guys!

Will Vordred become the Champion of Darkness?

The final battle with Vordred is coming this Friday... and as of the time I posted this at 7:30pm EST on Monday night... I am still writing the finale. (Only 4 days left!? Plenty of time O_O) Aside from the terrifying looming deadline of Friday this release is both very exciting and a little sad. Because DoomWood has been, according to the playerbase at large, one of, if not the most, popular storylines in AQWorlds thus far. Each week topped the previous. We broke almost every rule in the game during the course of DoomWood... which brings us to the point of this post -- why should we adhere to the rules with the Boss fight? Inspired heavily by the recent Sepulchure vs Drakath boss fight in DragonFable, this week's saga ending duel will be different from the things you have seen before. More coming tomorrow. Oh, and while you wait for tomorrow's post, can you give me a hand writing the finale?

Forums/Twitter Question: What unpredictable things would you like to see happen during the finale?

Coming this week

This Friday is the thrilling conclusion of the DoomWood saga as the story finally reaches its climax. You've made your way through DoomWood, been everywhere from the top of the Tower of Necromancy to the bottom of the darkest dungeon that the Necropolis has to offer. You've tolerated Zomboda and all of the puns in the Chopping Maul. You've seen Noxus and Chuckles change places and Gravelyn change clothes and last week you accidentally helped ArcAttack accidentally super-charge the Paladin Slayer, Vordred.

Now it all comes to a close. You and Artix are ready to face Vordred and stop him once and for all.

If he can be stopped.

Samba and Nulgath are both already hard at work on the cutscenes because this is no ordinary conclusion. As always, you shape the storyline. We've been getting a lot of great feedback from you guys on this zone and you've had a lot of different ideas about where it's going so we are opening up the ending to multiple possible endings all based on your choices.

ArcAttacking!

Last Week's ARCATTACK event is still in full swing. There are LOTS of non-member drops, LOTS of member only items in the member only backstage area and LOTS of rares in the EVENt RARE SHOP, but those won't last forever. The drops and member shop are staying in the game along with the event but those rares will be leaving soon. Don't miss out.

If you want to read more about the band and see what ArcAttack Fans think of the event, visit:

Trying To Make Everyone Happy

A few new classes are coming to AQW this weekend. As promised, the UndeadSlayer Class (for members only) will be coming to the DoomWood Rep Shop for rank 10 DoomWood Rep BUT for those of you Members who have not yet hit Rank 10 while farming for Necro, there will also be an AC version of UndeadSlayer (also member only).

Just like Necromancer, there will be no difference at all in appearance or abilities. The AC version is just there to give you the option to work hard to earn the class or just drop the ACs and save the time.

We've been getting a lot of mixed signals from you guys about an AC version of Arcangrove's non-member Shaman Class.

A handful of very dedicated players have worked tirelessly to earn the Shaman Class but we've gotten tens of tousands of messages asking us to add an AC option to buy it. It's impossible to make everyone happy, but that will never stop us from trying. Of course, it would be a terrible insult to those hard working players to go back and make Shaman Class availible for purchase but we think we've found a compromise that will work for everyone.

This weekend we are introducing EVOLVED SHAMAN CLASS to Arcangrove. It will have an all new look and new set of skills based on the original Shaman Class Build with entirely different powers.

Here's the nice part, if you have already earned Shaman, you get the earned version of Evolved Shaman FOR FREE. No fighting through impossible tower mini-games or farming for a drop that never seems to drop... It is a gift to those of you who put in the hard work and time to earn Shaman. Everyone else will still have the option to earn Shaman and Evolved Shaman just like you did or they can buy Evolved Shaman with ACs but the original Shaman is not and will never be for sale.

New Color Picker

Zhoom and Yorumi have pretty much ironed out most of the bugs from the new color picker and have told me that (unless they find some OTHER terrible bugs) the new color picker will be live THIS WEEK. Sorry that we weren't able to release it last week, but we're soo close... can ya taste it?

ArcAttacking CastleMania!

The ArcAttack event is now LIVE!

more than 23,000 player are currently online after a vyer interesting and revealing Q and A session with the members of ArcAttack where literally THOUSANDS of questions were gathered by the Devs and Mods from all different servers and from Twitter.

Once again, you guys did a great job of making us look good. Your enthusiasm for the event really surprised ArcAttack and they put as much thought into their answers as you did into your questions.

But that is over now and the ArcAttack Event is underway!

DoomWood continues with special guests, ArcAttack, whom Vordred us using to cause electro-musical mayhem in CastleMania!

We've got 5 special cutscenes with voices and music by the band themselves (Special Guest appearances by Galanoth as Vordred and One-Eyed Doll's Kimberly as Sally) , an Event Rare shop with 22 GUARENTEED RARE AC ITEMS...

...10 Non-Member Drops including 2 brand new armors, 14 Member Only Items, a Member-Only Backstage Area with Vordred Outtakes where you can stand in the Faraday Cage and take a screenshot with the band NPCs, and an event Achievement Badge (Book of Lore and Character Page!) for everyone who completes the event!

Play through the entire event to see what happens when Vordred tries to use ArcAttack's electro-musical research to increased his powers of undeath and get prepared for next week's DOOMWOOD FINALE!

Every Good Scientist Needs Willing Test Subject

Today will be the beginning of AQW's ArcAttack Musical Event, and if you have been following Artix's Play-By-Play you know exactly whats going on. This is the final ArcAttack band member spotlight. This mysterious... man, probably... is known only as 7.

Not much is known about 7, other than the simple fact that he is without a doubt the bravest person that the band has ever know. Or the stupidest. Or both.

In ArcAttack's live shows 7 is always seen wearing his Faraday Suit which insulates him from very probably harm and allows him to perform in-between their giant Singing Tesla Coils as electricity crawls, arccs and snaps across the surface of the suit and the Lightning Guitar. 7, wearing the protective suit, is the ONLY person capable of playing that instrument without risking permanent damage.

Within the walls of Castlemania, he assist the band's electro-musical experimentation as a volunteer guinea pig and test subject. Who knows what effects these experiments have had on this chain-mail-masked musician of mystery beneath his Faraday Suit.

Happening now

The epic-ally electryifying musical guest ArcAttack will rock Lore! Be there for the lightning, for the fury, and for VORDRED! ArcAttack, DoomWood's very own band of mad scientists, will fuse music and energy in an ULTIMATE experiment that will ROCK THE WORLD and make Vordred completely UNSTOPPABLE! ... unless of course, you can stop him.

Getting to know ArcAttack's Tech Guy!

We are enjoying showcasing a new member of Arc Attack each day this week! It's an excellent introduction to tomorrow's MASSIVE Musical Event featuring ArcAttack in DoomWood. These are your compatriots in the fight against Vordred; they may be working for him under duress, but they're not going to go down without (Arc) attacking back!

Today's chapter focuses on Sam, the Wizard of the Wires, the Sultan of the Sound Board, and the Pharoah of High Frequencies! He is ArcAttack's Tech Guy (it's an industry term!) and he's the one that gets the coils to cooperate!

Now, Sam is not your ordinary Mad Scientist. He came to Necro U hoping to become a Necromancer. But when he attended his first Grateful Undead concert, he was blown away (literally, all the way across the auditorium!) by the supersonic waves blasting from the group's speakers! That got him interested in the power of sound, and when he coupled that with his keen interest in Quantuum Necrotics, he knew the path his career would take.

Fast forward four years and you'll find him deep in the dungeons of CastleMania, performing sonic sonar experiments on bats and appalling auditory tests on ghouls, skeltons, and lichs. (He rejected slime-based subjects as they have no ears.)

Epic Member-Only Event Items!

Yesterday we gave you a preview of some of the awesome AC items going rare with this event. But today we want to show off the Member-only items that will be released! Mennace has been hard at work all week Flashing these fantastic objets de guerre (thanks, Google Translate!) aka "weapons," if we're not being fancy.

So, how 'bout a peek?

Pictured above are the:

Techno Mage Armor (Color custom!)

Techno Hood

Dual Resistors

Electric Arc

Circuitbreaker Blade

Static Staff

But more will be released!

Join us tomorrow at sundown for the launching of AQWorlds' most SHOCKING musical event yet! Watch Vordred as he attempts to become supercharged and work with the members of Arc Attack to save themselves and the WORLD!

Getting to know ArcAttack's Bassist!

The Countdown continues - only TWO more days until the Arc Attack Musical Event this Friday! There's a little bit of Mad Scientist in most artists, and in anyone who has a passion for creation, really. We share that trait with the members of ArcAttack, and we've all been hard at work creating the various parts of this weekend's musical event!

Today we'd like to continue our introduction of the ArcAttack band members with the most bass-ic member of them all - John! As ArcAttack's bass guitarist, you'd expect him to be strong, powerful, and a driving force in the band, much like the bass line in a rockin' song.

As a mad scientist driven by frequencies beyond the range of normal human hearing, he embraces his ability and puts it to work manipulating magic through music. Already possessing a double-Doctorate in Dissonance and Direct Current, he's aiming for a third degree in Dead-icated Necrotics. This weekend's experiment will be used in his dissertation.

AC and Member Event Rare items for this weekend's event!

We mentioned yesterday that there will be some EPIC items coming to the ArcAttack event, and today we want to show some of them off! We want to whet your appetite before we ROCK it!

High-voltage AC gear pictured above:

Faraday Suit Armor

Ride the Lightning Cape

Ionic Discharge Staff

AC items for SCIENCE!:

Mad Scientist Armor

High-Voltage Conductor Mace

Experimentation #7 Staff

Toxis Resistor Axe

And more!

Member-only Helms:

Augmented Vision Helm (top right)

Toxic Vision Helm (bottom right)

AC Helms:

Mad-Eye Scientist Helm (top left)

Hypochondriacal Scientist Helm (bottom left)

There will also be non-member items, but we do not have the art for them yet. No art, no preview pictures!

Reminder!

AEXtras is still a great way to get FREE ADVENTURECOINS and even FREE BATTLEON POINTS, and with new Inventory, Bank slots and Preimere Event rares to buy there's never been a better time!

Google Translate makes bringing AQW to you easier!

We've got a REALLY nice update to AQ.com and the Upgrade Page! Thanks to Captain Rhubarb, you can now select from a drop-down menu of 50+ languages, including Portuguese, Chinese, Turkish, Spanish, and more!

You'll find a drop-down menu of languages on the left side of the page, underneath the About section.

Remember, we are not the ones translating these pages; that's done by Google Translate. We will not be able to correct typos or mistranslations, but we will laugh along with you if you find any funny, badly-translated phrases!

We hope this makes navigating AQ.com and it's pages easier for you! What would you think of this feature coming to the Design Notes page? Let us know on the forum!

Warlic's crazy Arcttack music code!

This Friday, ArcAttack will be shocking audiences for the first time inside a video game. Replicating the effect of how their Frankenstien style telsa coils shoot lighting to produce the music was a bit of a challenge though! So Warlic wrote code in Actionscript 3.0 that listens to the song and triggers the in-game version of the Tesla Coils to shoot lightning on time with the music. It is sooo cool! Way to go Warlic! We just emailed our prototype to the band.

Voice Acting

Also, in this upcoming special musical event, Kimberly (from One-Eyed Doll) will return as the voice of Necromantress Sally, ArcAttack will be themselves... and Vordred will be voice acted by *transmission lost* which should be interesting! Make sure you are caught up on all the quests in the DoomWood Storyline before the event so you get ALL of the achievements and quest-completes! It all starts Friday at sundown.

Getting To Know ArcAttack's Drummer!

]The ArcAttackMusical Event is coming THIS FRIDAY, along with an [b]Event Rare[/b] shop with lots of theme items, 5 voice acted cutscenes (voices of the band themselves!) and a member only backstage area after the event, (where, among other things, you can take a screenshot in ArcAttack's Faraday Cage!)

We thought it might be cool if we let you know a little bit more about the band and their ground-breaking music by doing a spotlight feature on each of the members of ArcAttack all week long. Today we'll learn a little bit more about ArcAttack's drummer, KING BEAT!

King Beat was actually a king! He was once ruler of a planet called "Battlerock" whoselects their leaders by having a battle of the bands competition every so often insteadof voting. He was eventually beaten, dethroned, scrapped, and ArcAttack pulled him from a garbage dump. They repaired him and King Beat is now the drummer for the band (the band's drummer has been a robot since they started the group).

He is very technically minded but that's not to say that he doesn't have feelings. Arcattack is very lucky to have him on board. The only thing cooler than having a robot for a drumemr is having a robot for a drummer who is also the deposed king of an alien world.

Come back tomorrow for more info on the band and come back Friday for the ArcAttack Musical Event! Click HERE or click the poster above for more info on the event, the band and even some video clips of the band doing their thing! This special musical event is leading up to the DoomWood Finale coming up very soon, but this weekend's event is one that you're going to want attend.

TheArcAttack Musical Event is coming THIS FRIDAY, along with an Event Rare shop with lots of theme items, 5 voice acted cutscenes (voices of the band themselves!) and a member only backstage area after the event, (where, among other things, you can take a screenshot in ArcAttack's Faraday Cage!)

New Color Picker Coming This Week. Probably.

Yorumi has been hard at work on the new color picker that will continue to allow you to select colors from a grid as we have now but also allow you to change the picker into free-form mode and pick the color you want from a free-form spectrum.

As it is coded now, you will NOT be able to see or enter color values in either hex or RGB so when you pick a color that you like, be sure to remember around where it was!

With a little luck it should be ready to go this week. With a LOT of luck it MIGHT even come out today, but don't hold your breath.

DEADY TOYS ARE RUNNING OUT!

Faith (head of HeroMart) has asked me to warn you that we have got only 130 Deady Toys (we started with SEVERAL HUNDRED and they have gone so fast!) left in stock at HeroMart and we will NOT be getting any more as there wer eonly a limited number ever created.

Each of the Deady Toys also comes with the exclusive non-member Samurai Deady pet as featured in our most recent Friday the 13th event with Voltaire!

Each of these toys are collector's items and if you're a fan of Voltaire you really don't want to missl out on them!

Undead Legends invade the Legion!

Death, darkness, and destruction - all are hallmarks of a Legendary member of the Undead Legion! If YOU think you are worthy of the title "Undead Legend" then /join Shadowfall and seek out Dage! His Undead Champion merge shop is stocked with 4 fantastically dark and creepy items for you to equip!

Battle On in ShadowFall War!

As I write this, the Shadowfall War Meter is at 88% You are so close! Once the war meter hits 100% you'll have access to some EPIC equips from the War Merge Shop and Monster drops! There are two versions of the Noxus Boss: Regular and ULTIMATE!

Boss drops:

Rage Armor

Rage Armet

Viper Sickles

Shadowfallen Cape

Axe of the Evil Eye (Ultimate Noxus only!)

New monster drops:

Ectoplasmic Pole

Ectoplasmic Daggers

PainBlade

Dual PainBlades

New War Merge Shop items:

SkeleCommander

Doublesided PainBlade

PainBlade Cape

PainBlade Helm

PainBlade Ectoplasmic Skull Mace

Torch of Darkness

Bounded Blade

Limited Quantity Shop!

Make sure to check in at 10 AM EST on Saturday to access the Limited Quantity Shop featuring art by Tomix (Guest artist from DragonFable) and Dage! Read Cysero's Design Notes post below for more information and pictures!

Reminder!

AEXtras is still a great way to get FREE ADVENTURECOINS and even FREE BATTLEON POINTS, and with new Inventory, Bank slots and Preimere Event rares to buy there's never been a better time!

WHAT: A Limited Quantity Shop is a shop that has a fixed number of items. If an items has a Quanitity of 500, once 500 people buy it... that's it. There are no more. If you see somthing you like, be sure to arrive when the shop opens for your best chance to get one of the limited rare items.

ITEMS:

SteamGear Armor - 900 AC - 7,000 qty

SteamGear Helm - 300 AC - 7,000 qty

SteamGear Bow - 200 AC - 3,500 qty

SteamGear Moglin Member pet - 25,000 gold -7,000 qty

Gilded Coffin Cape - 150 AC - 7,000 qty

Dire Daggers -300 AC - 3,500 qty

Soul Harvester Armor - 700 AC - 9,000 qty

Soul Harvester Hood - 300 AC - 9,000 qty

Soul Harvester Spear - 200 AC - 9,000 qty

Ultima Thermos non-Member sword -25,000 gold - 30,000 qty

Ultima Frigia sword -250 AC - 3,000 qty

Ultima Aquus sword -250 AC - 3,000 qty

Ultima Geoda battleaxe - 250 AC - 3,000 qty

Ultima Electrix spear -250 AC - 3,000 qty

Below are pictures of: Tomix's SteamGear set (minus the daggers), Dage's Soul Harvester full set and the five elemental Ultima Elemental Weapons (inclusing the non-member Ultima Thermos sword).

Tomix's SteamGear set (minus the daggers)...

Dage's Soul Harvester full set...

and the five Ultima Elemental Weapons (including the non-member Ultima Thermos sword).

Later Today

Prepare yourselves for theboss fight against Noxus and some of the best story driven cutscenes that we;ve had in AQW history, PLUS all new items in the war merge shop, all new war drops and a member-only EXTREME NOXUS BATTLE with special member-only drops!

Next Friday: The ArcAttack Musical Event!

Don't forget to come back next week for our next in-game musical event

Our special musical guest, ArcAttack will be here to help us make our way toward the end of the DoomWood Saga. There will be an event rare item shop, voice-acted cutscenes and, of course, the coursing science-driven music of ArcAttack!

Click HERE to read more about the event and see some live ArcAttack videos!

Noxious Noxus Boss Battle Blowout!

This Friday the showdown in Shadowfall BEGINS! There's something rotten in Doomwood, and all noses point towards Noxus' rotting corpse! If you want to save Gravelyn, the Alliance, and Artix, you'll need to break through the massive battalions of undead and take Noxus DOWN!

We're also stocking some NEW awesome additions to the War Merge shop and epic rare items for monster drops, so get in there and BATTLE ON!

ArcAttack is Electrifying!

Next Friday at sundown AQWorlds will team up with the epicly electric musical guest star, ArcAttack! These mad scientists will fuse music and energy in an experiment that will ROCK THE WORLD! That much power would make Vordred COMPLETELY unstoppable! You've got to save the scientists and stop Vordred's super-charged takeover attempt, so get ready to grab a guitar and turn the amps up to 900,000 in this special musical event!

Here is some video of Arc Attack Performing... it is really something that needs to be seen to be believed!

You may have seen Arc Attack perform on Amercia's Got Talent. Here is a snippet from the show giving you a a little more information on the band.

Meet and play with ArcAttack in-game in ONE WEEK during AdventureQuest World's most SHOCKING musical event!

DoomWood's Finale - The Nature of Darkness!

On July 29th, the ultimate battle between Light and Dark will come to an end! Face death, destruction, and Darkness... and its Champion! Artix's story will not be complete until YOU finish telling it, Hero!

SATURDAY at 10 AM EST - LQS!

Set your alarms for 10 AM server time, because the Limited Quantity Shop is BACK! It's stocked with gear that's sure to get grabbed up FAST, so if you want a chance to equip the coolest in Tomix-designed steampunk wear or rock the Soul Harvester set that Dage has made, you'll need to move quick!

138 Cheaters

One Friday when the 3 and 15 month member bonus items went live there was an exploit that allowed hackers to access the shop for about five minutes before we fixed it. In that very small window 138 cheaters grabbed the Chaos Shaper class or some of the other member rewards without having supported the game like the rest of you guys.

We catch and ban hackers, cheaters and scammers every day to try and keep the game as safe and fun as possible for the rest of our real players, and sometimes it takes us a long time to gather enough evidence to ban someone but when it's something like THIS, where we can very clearly and eaisly see that they have something cheated to get... well, they're just asking for it.

So those 138 people had their stolen items taken from them.

They also all ALL of their other items taken from them, as well as all of their gold.

The next time they log in they will see that they have No Class & the Default Sword equipped, and they will find a note in the backpack letting them know that stealing is wrong and that there are consequences to their actions.

ARC ATTACK Is On The Way!

AQW's next Musical Event is coming closer and we're happy to announce that the high-tech, high-energy ARC ATTACK has agreed to make a special appearance in a musical event leading up to the DoomWood Finale!

If you've never heard of Arc Attack, they (cut paste from thei website) "use their high tech wizardry to generate a truly 'electrifying' performance.

Two custom engineered hand built Tesla Coils throw out electrical arcs up to twelve feet long, each one acting as an instrument with a sound reminiscent of the early days of the synthesizer. A robotic drum set accompanies the spectacle, it's high power LED's flashing bright colors with the stroke of each mechanically actuated stick, while ArcAttack's six members churn out rhythmic instrumental melodies.

Yeah, this guys is getting hit in the face with 12 million volts! For real.

Live instruments meet drum loops and samples to produce rock, electronica and indie with a splash of punk and a dash of metal served with a side of pop."

The first time that we met Kimberly of One-Eyed Doll, she was opening for Arc Attack at DragonCon. Since then, they have gone on to appear on America's Got Talent as one of the finalists and Kimberly bravely volunteered to play the Bride of Frankenstein in their Faraday Cage as Arc Attack astounded millions of viewers with their magi-science!

Like all of our live musical events, this one will have a Pre-Show Merch Shop filled with shocking AC Rares which will leave when the event closes, but THIS event is staying a permanent part of AQWorlds and the DoomWood Storyline!

If all goes according to plan the live Musical Event will arrive Friday, July 22nd (NOT this friday)! Prepare yourselves to harness two of the most powerful forces in nature. Electricity and Music!

Limited Quantity Shop, This Saturday at 10:00 AM EST.

The time has come for guest Artist Tomix (of DragonFable Fame) to visit AQW. He has kindly agreed to take time from his busy schedule over there to make a few items for us. SO far he's got a helm, cape, armor and a bow and Dage has a few items that he would also like to add to this LQS.

I will give you guys some images, exact quantities and exact prices as soon as we are sure about the final item list. I don't want any surprises popping up, but one thing that we know for sure... THIS SATURDAY MORNING AT 10:00 AM EST, the Tomix LQS opens!

Mark it on your calendars and set your alarms.

The Noxus War!

This weekend, it looks like you guys are right on track for a Friday War Boss. There will be a few cutscenes and a LOT more items added to the war merge shop and more rare drops added top the war monsters!

It looks like Mennace might be feeling better so he plans on completing his hard work that he began last week, adding at LEAST 2 new armors to the Player Suggestion shop!

Innovations!

Zhoom and I are working on a final version for the AQW Color Picker, which should not only allow you a much wider range of set colors from the grid list like we have now, but also allow you to make your OWN color with a freestyle color picker (which may be reallllllllllllllly buggy, fingers crossed!).

We were also talking about some localization options for canned chat that will detect your language and present you with canned chat for your own language (we will be starting, of course, with English and Portuguese) but what's even better is that it should also translate channed chat from one language into another based on your language settings.

If you select "Obrigado!" from your canned chat list, I will see "Thanks!" on my screen!

We are also working on adding a few new Member perks to AQW, such as the option for members to set your background on your CHARACTER PAGE (behind your character in the view-window) and a few other small perks like member only emotes (a few more dances, shadowboxing, a Power-up, Jump & Cheer, a few new battle animations to which non-members don't get access).

FORUM QUESTION: What kind of member-only emotes would you like?

We are ALSO doing a complete overhaul on the Book of Lore. It's really become quite messy and more than a little out-of-date.

Most of these innovations are ongoing projects that will NOT be released this Friday but most of them are small changes and shouldn't take too long before you see them in AQW!

Chaos Shaper Class & Battle Tested Axe Master Armor!

At long last we are releasing the 3 month and 15 month AQW membership bonus item rewards!

We've been talking about it for a long time and there was a hold up in production as we realized that we simply couldn't do justice to the DF class we were considering adding as the 15 month membership bonus, but then most of you said that you wanted a class original to AQW anyway so that worked out just fine.

Beginning TONIGHT! Anyone who has EVER purchased 3 months (or more) worth of AQW memberships (even if those 3 months weren't all at once, and even if they have expired) will get the AXE MASTER ACHIEVEMENT BADGE on their character page and in their Book of Lore!

Click on your badge in the Book of Lore and you can open a shop that will grant you access to these non-member items:

Battle Tested Axe Master Armor

Battle Tested Helm

Zhilo's Hairstyle

Each of these items are non-member so you can use them even if your membership has expired and they each cost 0 ACs so you can store them for free!

15 Month Membership Bonus Item Sets!

Anyone who has EVER purchased a total of 15 months (or more) worth of AQW memberships (even if those 15 months weren't all at once, and even if they have expired) will get the CHAOS SHAPER BADGE on their character page and in their Book of Lore!

Click on your badge in the Book of Lore and you can open a shop that will grant you access to these non-member items:

ChaosWarrior Armor

ChaosWarrior Helm

ChaosWarrior Wings

ChaosWarrior Omegus Sword

Chaos Shaper Class

Chaos Shaper Cape

Chaos Shaper Helm

Chaos Shaper Destroyer Sword

Each of these items are non-member so you can use them even if your membership has expired and they each cost 0 ACs so you can store them for free!

Chaos Shaper Skill Set

Now it's time to do a little skill breakdown for those of you who are lucky(insane) enough to attempt to control Chaos for your own purposes.

Remember that the very nature of Chaos is to be unpredictable. Chaos is insanity. Chaos is random. Chaos is POWER. You have decided to take on forces that nobody, even Drakath, can truly control. But with hard work and a quick mind you can learn to flow with the insanity rather than fighting against it. Can you sharpen and free your mind or will your sanity get bashed against the rocks of Chaos?

Most of the Chaos Shaper's abilities have 2 possible outcomes. That means that you can't really plan out your next move. You NEED to think fast and respond to each outcome. It completely changes how you play, each time you use a skill.

Even though this class require a lot of Luck to help your Crits, it's a very strong Warrior based class that is best at mowing down your enemy fast by overpowering them. I suggest STR based enhancements for fast damage.

AUTO ATTACK

2 Second Cooldown.

A basic attack taught to all adventurers.

TWIST TIME

30 Mana, 16 Second Cooldown.

The powers of Chaos alter time increasing your attack speed OR reducing the speed of your enemy

There is a 50/50 chance that your haste will increase for 6 seconds or your enemy's haste will decrease. That means that either your foe is dealing less damage to you, giving you time to make your next decision OR your speed increases which is a great way for this class to bank a bunch of mana when you need it as it recieves mana on successfully hitting an enemy.

CHAOS FOG

30 Mana, 10 Second Cooldown.

A Chaotic stuns your target OR weakens the target reducing the damage it does.

As with most possible stun powers this is a good lead off ability but again, either way you win. Either your foe loses HALF of its damage dealing ability for a few seconds OR it gets stunned, giving you a chance to Twist Time and get some mana back fast or let the next skill do its job.

CHAOTIC TOUCH

20 Mana, 7 Second Cooldown.

A Chaotic touch that harms your target or heals yourself.

This Ability can be a lifesaver but I have found that it's never that outcome that I want when I want it. Either your target gets a fairly powerful DoT (Damage over Time) placed on it that ticks away its life which you go to town on it, or... and you need this one... it hits you with a fairly powerful HoT (Heal over Time). I've found that this is a good skill to use if you pull off a stun. You will come to depend on that HoT but remember that you can never count on anything when you're playing with Chaos!

CHAOTIC STRENGTH & CHAOTIC FOCUS

Passive.

Increase STR by 10%

Increase CRIT by 10%

Once again, as you rank the class up you will unlock these new powers which will increae the entire class's effectiveness in combat.

DEATH GRIP

30 Mana, 10 Second Cooldown.

The power of Chaos causes high damage to your target BUT might backfire and cause harm to yourself instead!

This skill is the live saver and the heart breaker. You have a 60% chance to deal a MASSIVE blow to your target and it's just about as expensive in terms of mana as any of the other skills allowing you to do a LOT of damage over and over and over. But that leaves a 40% chance that your Chaotic power will backlash against you dealing a massive hit to yourself. YOU CAN KILL YOURSELF, so beware!

There you have it. One of the most powerful and least predictable classes in AQW and our first CHAOS based class. It's a LOT of fun to play but it can drive you to the very edge of insanity with its unpredictable nature.

There has been a recent surge in AC items which has been a response to player demand. There are just a LOT more people who are willing to buy ACs rather than memberships and we always listen to our players to the best of our ability. We go where you lead us, but that does NOT mean that we are going to abandon our members without whom none of this would be possible. For all of you who have helped keep AQW going with your member support, we cannot show you enough how much we appreciate you and we hope that you enjoy both of these member bonus shops and everything you find inside them, the member only areas, member only classes, weapons, pets, houses and just remember that as ACs are great for grabbing some rares or taking the shortcut to classes like Necromancer but Member content will just keep growing with AQW.

Seriously, thank you.

THE NOXUS WAR!

This week the DoomWood Saga continues as Noxus sets his plans in motion and uses his commaned of the undead armies at his disposal to attack SHADOWFALL!

Gravelyn is no fool, and knows what is coming for her. King Alteon would send his knights but his forces are already spread too thin fighting the undead attacking LightGuard Keep. Noxus has no respect for Gravelyn or the truce between Good and Evil against Chaos and sees Shadowfall as the key to the rest of Lore!

This means WAR! The Good & Evil Alliance has to pull together and rush to Shadowfall's defense! Will you answer the call to war?! We have some really great Star Warsian surprises in store for you in this week's cutscene animated entirely by Samba!

You will also find a War Merge Shop and a few drops which will go RARE when the war is over.

Very Small Suggestion Shop Update

This week I challenged Mennace to take some of the less well developed art from the suggestion forum and create some truly EPIC items out of them. Unfortunately he got really ill during the week and could only finish a few pieces but the ones he did were really nice.

The Fire Flail designed by L3r421L

Dual Frost Breath by paultaker

Hopefully next week we will have some time to add some more items!

Reminder!

AEXtras is still a great way to get FREE ADVENTURECOINS and even FREE BATTLEON POINTS, and with new Inventory, Bank slots and Preimere Event rares to buy there's never been a better time!

JUST RELEASED on HeroMart.com

Voltaire has created a collector's Samurai Deady figure based on the most recent AQWorld's musical event. We only have a limited quantity available at HeroMart.com for sale. There are three versions of this figure -- each with a different facial expression. Oh... and it comes with a bonus item!

This collectors' figure comes with a code that unlocks the Samurai Deady Pet in AQWorlds! Like the original Deady pet which is now perma rare and can never be obtained again, this is one of the few pets that is non-member.

ALSO

DragonFable's plotline is getting INTENSE as the grand finale of the storyline rapidly approaches. You will never believe what DragonFable's Drakath (5 years in the past) just did in the last cutscene...

The gaming community gives us a Thumbs up

...but attacking SHADOWFALL?

Darkness! Doom! The bones of MILLIONS OF UNDEAD!!! All of this and more are almost in Noxus and Vordred's grasp... IF they succeed in conquering Shadowfall! It is an epic battle for both Light AND Dark this week; only YOU will be able to save Gravelyn's home and undead army - and you'd better, if you want to have any hope of saving Lore.

Noxus and Vordred are on their way to Gravelyn's throne room and you've got a ways to travel from DoomWood to Shadowfall. So grab your most terrifying weapons, equip your highest enhancements, and prepare to /unsheath on a moment's notice because THIS FRIDAY the war for ShadowFall BEGINS!

War rares galore AND a Player Suggestion shop update will have you stuffing your backpack with new loot until it's so heavy you'll need to train your STR in order to carry it!

Paladin/DoomKnight Revamp 2.0 Begins!

Last week we launched the introduction of the re-vamped DoomKnight and Paladin classes. Many of you were really happy with the changes, but enough of you wanted to see MORE! So we're going back to the coding board and seeing how we can fine-tune, rework, and SUPERCHARGE those improvements!

Revamp 2.0 begins this week; we'll keep you posted on details as we work out and change up the numbers!

Chaos Shaper - Shaping up Nicely!

Chaos will recreate you into a completely new form, but not if YOU master it first! This LUCK-based class will have you causing pure havok on the battlefield; your enemies won't know what hit them, only that they're down for the count and seeing stars! (Or skulls, if they're undead.)

Male Chaos Shaper class

Because this is a preview, and because we love teasing you with information, here are the NAMES of the skills:

Twist Time

Chaos Fog

Chaotic Touch

Death Grip

Two un-named passives which will deal crit and damage

Yorumi is in a coding frenzy getting the code right. Cysero's given him a list of twisted skills to confound, confuse, and concuss your enemies until they won't be able to STAND against you, let alone attack you!

We're making good progress on the class and hope to have it done soon. We'll keep you posted!

Things we are working on RIGHT NOW!

We had a meeting this morning to go over plans for AQWorlds. They were divided into 3 parts: Immediate, Current, and Future plans.

Projects we are working on for this week:

Shadowfall war: this week's release, with rare items galore and a nifty Suggest Shop update.Color palette fix: this will NOT get fixed this week, but Yorumi is working with Zhoom on it.Doomwood being added to the map: on Friday you'll be able to walk to Doomwood!

Projects we are making progress on:

New Tutorial coming: To make the new player experience the BEST it can be, we're introducing a tutorial! Written by Cysero, this walkthrough of gameplay basics should make getting in-game, gearing up, and getting your BATTLE ON much faster and more fun!

Battle On Battle Cards EXPANSION PACKS!!!If you enjoyed the card game, you'll LOVE these two expansion packs featuring ALL NEW cards!

PaladinSlayer Pack:This will feature a doom-filled deck of darkness and destruction! The featured card-game class will be... PaladinSlayer! (NOT the same as UndeadSlayer, which is an in-game class which will come in Doomwood!) You'll get cards like "...On a Bonemuncher!" and "Vordred's Sword"!*

Chaos Pack:Chaos consumes ALL! And with this chaotic card-deck you'll be able to completely chaorrupt your friends! The featured card-game class will be... Chaos Lord! (NOT the same as an in-game Chaos Lord class. That doesn't exist.) You'll get cards like "Yokai Dexterity" and "Chaorrupted"!**

We do not know what the in-game items attached to these will be. But we will think of some! We're working hard on the expansions, but do not yet have a confirmed release date. We will keep you updated on when that will be!

* Card names are subject to change. These are just examples.** These are examples too, and will change if we can come up with something more AWESOME!

Forum question: What cards would YOU like to see in the Paladinslayer and Chaos card decks? Let us know and your favorite weapons, pets, armors, counters and traps might end up in the expansion pack!

Friends, Fun, and Fireworks

Celebrate, Heroes! Friday was Canada Day and today is Independence Day for residents of the United States. To help you express your jubilation, we've got the Freedom Shop in Battleon stocked with rockin' rocket weps, crazy cannon pets, and this year's special items: the Liberty Blades!

So raise those sparklers high, wear your Maple Leaf capes with pride, and have fun on this last day of Freedom Weekend! This is best time to spend with family and friends, sharing laughs and stories at cookouts, shooting off fireworks (stay safe!) and preparing to BATTLE ON as we get ready for the next installment of the DoomWood storyline!

We haven't seen Vordred in a while, and that is VERY ominous! What could he be planning? What nefarious schemes have Noxus and Sally been plotting? Get ready for another chilling chapter as Vordred makes his move to become the Champion of Darkness!

More details tomorrow once we're all back at the Secret Underground Lab! Until then... Happy Fourth of July, everybody! I'm off to help Rolith with the cookout, and hopefully I'll have some fantastic fireworks pictures for you tomorrow on Twitter.

THe climactic end to an epic tale comes next week!

Darkness meets Light in an epic battle for WORLD DOMINATION! Vordred, the PaladinSlayer, has taken out every Paladin in Lore... except Artix. In order to become the Champion of Darkness and rule the world, all Vordred knows is that he must slay Artix!

You are Lore's last hope, Hero! To protect Artix and the world, you must go on an journey through the heart of darkness in Doomwood in order to save the Light!

Play the Doomwood Saga and experience:

Doomwood Invasion

Vordred, the PaladinSlay, sends a massive army of undead to attack Lightguard Keep, Doomwood's last defense against Darkness. You learn that Artix is the Last Paladin, and that he must be kept safe at all costs!

Zorbak's Hideout

Zorbak, the ebil blue moglin, is the only Necromancer in Doomwood who doesn't either hate you or want to kill you. He's your only source of information! Battle through to his Hideout and gain the information you seek!

Tower of Necromancy

If you want to gain enterance into the Necropolis, you'll need to become a Necromancer or create a fake Necro U Student ID. Battle up 10 floors of this awesome puzzle-minigame and find out who waits for you at the top!

The Necropolis

Sneak into Necro U, Doomwood's school of Necromancy! See what information you can find out about Vordred! Meet the Dean of the Necropolis and learn where the secrets to Vordred's nature and future are kept!

Temple of Doomwood

20 floors of furious fighting make up this dungeon crawl! If you can reach the bottom, you'll find the Dracolich imprisoned there AND learn key information about Artix and his powers!

Shadowfall War

Darkness versus Darkness! Vordred and Noxus are invading Shadowfall, home to Gravelyn, Empress of the Shadowscythe! Their goal - to take over her army of undead! If Shadowfall is conquered, Artix, Doomwood, and Lore are doomed!

CastleMania - ArcAttack musical event

Vordred has left you to defeat Noxus in Shadowfall while he forces ArcAttack - a band of Mad Scientists - to conduct the ULTIMATE EXPERIMENT in energy, magic, and music in order to make him UNSTOPPABLE!

The EPIC FINALE!!! Join us NEXT FRIDAY!

Necromancer Class: Available in Doomwood!

Are YOU ready to take the final step into Darkness? Do you have what it takes to become… a Necromancer? I thought so, excellent! There are TWO paths to get the Necromancer Class, and it’s your call which to take:

The Tower: Purchase the NUE Necronomicon from the Rep Shop in Lightguard(requires rank 10 DoomWood Rep); find the Creature Shard(drops off the Creature Creation in the Maul); and talk to the Master at the top of the Tower to buy it for 50,000 gold.

The Hideout: Purchase the Necromancer Class for 2,000 ACs by talking to Zorbak.

Be sure to check out the Necromancer Class skill write-up that Cysero put out on the Design Notes for details! You can find the AC version in Zorbak's Hideout.

The 72 hour achievement and exclusive items

Created by Menace, this DragonHero armor is being gifted to ALL AQWorlds Members tonight!!! There is also an achievement - use it inside your Book of Lore to access the items. This armor will most likely become known as the 72-hour armor. New players who upgrade in AQWorlds within 72-hours of account creation will be bestowed this armor... and since we are starting this today, anyone who upgrades in 72 hours from launch will be able to get it too. Yup, that is the sword in the background of the image!

Deep within the Temple of DoomWood

(SPOILER ALERT: If you are not caught up in the DoomWood Saga do not read!)Last we left off in the DoomWood Saga, Artix (Hey, that is me!) escaped from the prison of LightGuard Keep (Which *coughs* you put me in without telling me why.) to find and battle the PaladinSlayer Vordred. Meanwhile, you went to the Necropolis and discovered that Noxus, who had been defeated back in DragonFable, has been brought BACK as a Lich (A lich is a very powerful undead wizard -- remember, Noxus was actually alive in DragonFable) by the new Necromantress, Sally (Wearing her terrifying pink Necromancer robes). With three major villians focused on turning our world into a barren undead wasteland... things are looking pretty grim. We are not sure why we are supposed to keep Artix (Still me! So wierd talking about myself in the 3rd person) away from Vordred... other than Vordred is an evil PaladinSlayer who will apparently gain unbelievable powers of darkness if he slays Artix personally.

Considering that Vordred, the PaladinSlayer is immune to all light based attacks, we all believed that he was certain to effortlessly slay Artix if he found him... but now we think there may be another reason we need to keep Artix away from him. In a very confusing twist, Vordred identified that Artix's Axe (The blinding light of destiny) was in fact, NOT light-magic based and mentioned something about Artix not being able to cast light based spells on his own. Then we watched in horror as Vordred corrupted the Blinding Light of Destiny into his new personal weapon... (Did I mention things looked Grim?) Tonight you will brave an old school dungeon crawl to the bottom of the Temple of DoomWood, defeat a Dracolich (there are rumors that two are down there) and learn a secret that no human was supposed to ever know! (If you are not human, then I guess it is ok for you to know it.)